Attorney charged with gun felonies

2 men surrender in March shooting of Berwyn house

June 30, 2004|By Brett McNeil, Tribune staff reporter.

A licensed attorney and former hearing officer in Berwyn was charged Tuesday with two gun-related felonies stemming from a March shooting outside a home on the 2400 block of East Avenue in Berwyn, authorities said.

Nicholas LaPonte, 54, of the 5000 block of North Neenah Avenue in Chicago surrendered to Berwyn police Tuesday morning, according to his attorney. He was later charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm, felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor illegal possession a gun without a state firearm owner's identification card, authorities said.

According to a Berwyn police report, LaPonte and John Zonzo were arrested about 1:30 a.m. March 14 after a witness saw one of the men fire several shots into the side of a brick bungalow. A family of eight--including a 7-year-old boy and girl--was sleeping inside.

At the time, the witness was unable to tell which man had fired the gun, and both men were released without charges. There were no reported injuries.

No motive for the shooting was given, and Cook County Assistant State's Atty. Jeff Chan did not offer one Tuesday in Bond Court in the Maybrook branch of the Circuit Court.

A spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office directed questions to Berwyn police about the length of time between LaPonte's initial arrest and the filing of felony charges. Officials in Berwyn could not be reached for comment.

Zonzo, 46, of the 1900 block of South 61st Court in Cicero also surrendered to police Tuesday morning and was charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm.

Both men were represented at the bond hearing by attorney Michael Goggin. Judge John Tourtelot set bail for LaPonte at $25,000, and at $20,000 for Zonzo.

Tourtelot said he set LaPonte's bail higher, in part, because he is facing a DUI charge. Neither man previously has been convicted of a crime, according to a spokeswoman for the clerk of the Circuit Court's office.

Goggin told the court Zonzo has three children and works as a food-service driver.

After the hearing, Goggin declined to comment on the charges.

The Berwyn police report states police found LaPonte and Zonzo inside a blue 1989 Nissan Maxima parked three blocks from the site of the shooting. The car matched a description of the shooter's vehicle provided by the witness, the report says.

LaPonte was behind the wheel, and later, while being handcuffed, he directed police to a chrome .38-caliber revolver under the driver's seat, according to the report. The gun contained two spent shell casings, and three more spent .38-caliber shells were located in the grass nearby, according to the report.

LaPonte worked as an officer in Berwyn from May 2001 to May 2003, according to the city's finance director.